It was a sad day when Kalmbach, a major craft book publishing house, decided to stop producing jewelry making books. However, luckily for us, a few independent authors have stepped into the void. 

Why books when there are digital versions?  There are some advantages to having physical copies. Firstly, you do not have to have the internet or an electronic device to read it. The bundle of tutorials is more cost effective than purchasing individual ones. Flipping through a book is arguably easier than scrolling through on a screen. We all learn differently and some who like to learn at their own pace, do best with a book.

Erika Pal of Wire Art Tutorials, is a highly productive wire jewelry artisan and instructor from Portugal, whose work I have featured a number of times before including previous giveaways (see links below).  

She has recently launched her first self-published book, Wire Wrapping Jewelry : Intensive Course for Beginners.  I received a copy for review.

A self-published book requires an incredible amount of work. It's not just the content but the layout, writing, editing, photography, printing and delivery aspects, all of which can be daunting. 

But Erika rose to the challenge. Her book is tailored for beginners and her ability to teach is evident. A good instructor does not assume anything. So she covers the basics. I liked how she chose to demonstrate an ear wire which has a wire wrapped loop instead of the more common simple loop style. Her wire weaving techniques section alone is worth having as it is a good visual reference for all the different weaves in one place.  

The 13 projects progress in order of difficulty. The projects I chose here are in order of where they appear on the book. I can see why she calls it an intensive course for beginners because she really takes the novice to the intermediate stage. 

There are rings, bracelets, earrings and pendants. Along the way, the designer introduces new ways of wire wrapping jewelry. The prong pendant project in particular was very enlightening as the back of the pendant is where the prongs originate and where the bail ends finish. All neatly done. 

There were a few grammatical mistakes and typos which were missed being a self-published book.  As I well know myself, self-editing is not easy. English is also not Erika's first language but she does, by in large, teach well in the language - the technical descriptions of each step were clear. A helpful suggestion for future books is to avoid the extensive use of italics and to choose a sans serif font for better readability. The numerous step by step photos also go a long way illustrating the important parts of the wire wrapping process. 

Erika is a prolific designer with an imaginative way with wire. You don't have to be a fan of her work to appreciate this instructional book. 










Giveaway

If you'd like to win a copy of Erika's book, Wire Wrapping Jewelry : Intensive Course for Beginners,  please make a comment below. Make sure you leave contact info below if you do not have an online shop or blog.



This giveaway is international.

Email subscribers need to scroll down the post they receive, click on Share Comment and enter your comment. Pick Name/URL. If you don't have a store or blog, leave the URL blank.

Extra entries if you become or are a blog subscriber or follower etc. If you also do shout outs about this giveaway, those will count as additional entries too! Please say so in the comments. (The exception is Facebook - just like/comment on the giveaway status there!!)

It ends in a week's time at 6 pm EST Monday, October 31, 2022. I will pick the winner randomly and announce the results as soon as possible after. So be sure to leave a contact email if you don't have an online link or make sure you come back and check! Otherwise I will redraw in a week. Good luck!

Before You Go:

Disclosure 

This blog may contain affiliate links. I do receive a small fee for any products purchased through affiliate links. This goes towards the support of this blog and to provide resource information to readers. The opinions expressed are solely my own. They would be the same whether or not I receive any compensation. 
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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM